IDE for Zephyr
A Visual Studio Code extension for Zephyr RTOS development. Set up host tools and the Zephyr SDK, manage west workspaces, and build, flash, and debug projects from one window.
Formerly known as Zephyr IDE.
Install from the Visual Studio Code Marketplace or the Open VSX Registry.
Works either as your full setup or alongside an existing Zephyr install (Docker, devcontainer, manual west setup) via ZEPHYR_BASE detection. An extension pack bundles Cortex-Debug, C/C++, Serial Monitor, Devicetree LSP, and CMake support.
You can read about the motivation behind the project here.
Why IDE for Zephyr
- Automated host tool install — follows the Zephyr Getting Started Guide on Ubuntu, macOS, and Windows. Skip it if you already have the tools installed.
- Automated SDK install — drives
west sdk to install and manage SDK versions and toolchains.
- Full Cortex-Debug integration — built-in launch templates for ST-Link, J-Link, OpenOCD, and Black Magic Probe, plus helper commands that resolve project, build, ELF, GDB, and toolchain paths from your active build.
- Multiple Zephyr workspaces — register several west workspaces and switch between them seamlessly without reopening VS Code.
- Team-shareable projects — projects, builds, runners, KConfig, devicetree overlays, and per-build west/CMake args live in a human-readable
zephyr-ide.json you can commit.
- Guided project + build creation — add an existing app or copy from a Zephyr sample, then add as many builds and runners per project as you need.
- Twister test integration — add, run, and reconfigure Twister tests from the same UI as builds.
- Cross-platform — Linux, macOS, and Windows.
Features
Workspace setup & SDK management
- Installs host tools (CMake, Python 3, Ninja, DTC, gcc) on supported platforms
- Sets up west via built-in
west.yml templates or your own manifest
- Clones existing west or IDE for Zephyr workspaces from Git
- Adopts existing
.west folders or external Zephyr installations via ZEPHYR_BASE
- Installs and manages Zephyr SDK versions and per-architecture toolchains through
west sdk
- Register and switch between multiple west workspaces from one VS Code window
Projects & builds
- Add existing applications or create new ones from Zephyr samples
- Multiple projects per workspace, multiple builds per project, multiple runners per build
- Per-project and per-build KConfig and devicetree overlay files
- Per-build board selection, runner arguments, and west / CMake argument overrides
- Custom project / build variables surfaced through launch configurations
- Configuration stored in human-readable
zephyr-ide.json for version control
Build, flash & debug
- Build, build pristine, clean, and flash from the status bar or project panel
- Concurrent builds with per-target locking
- Cortex-Debug launch templates for ST-Link, J-Link, OpenOCD, and Black Magic Probe
- Launch helper commands that resolve project, build, ELF, GDB, toolchain, and board paths
- Debug Select configuration for picking which build to debug at launch time
- Multi-root and
.code-workspace aware debug session resolution
Productivity
- Native VS Code tree view for projects, builds, runners, and tests
- Active project status bar control with automatic targeting based on the open file
- MenuConfig and GuiConfig editors
- ROM and RAM usage reports
- DTSh devicetree shell
- Integrated west terminal for ad-hoc commands
- Twister test panel for adding, running, and reconfiguring tests
Getting Started
The full documentation is available at zephyr-ide.mylonics.com.
Video tutorials
A reference sample project is also available.
Requirements
The extension can install host tools (CMake, Python 3, Ninja, Devicetree Compiler, gcc) automatically on Ubuntu/Debian, macOS, and Windows. On other platforms, install them via your package manager — see the host tools documentation and consider opening an issue or PR to have the IDE do it automatically for you in the future.
If Zephyr is already installed on your machine, set ZEPHYR_BASE and the extension will use it directly. See External Environments.
Known Issues
- Dev containers in WSL with Windows folders: keep your workspace inside the Linux file system (e.g.
/home/user/project) rather than /mnt/c/.... This is a west boards limitation.
Release Notes
See CHANGELOG.md for the full release history. Highlights for the 3.0 series are summarized in What's New in 3.0.
Development
See the Developer Guide for instructions on building, debugging, and contributing.
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